17 June 2020

0472 | Photo | SS-Panzergrenadier-Freiwilligen-Division "Nordland"



Formation of the SS Armoured Grenadier Division "Nordland". A young member of the division's reconnaissance battalion, possibly a Swede, checks papers of a Croatian villager at an improvised barrier next to his unit's training area, in the vicinity of Sisak. This slightly confused-looking young man probably speaks Croatian as well as the villager speaks Swedish. (The 3rd company of the "Nordland" Division's reconnaissance battalion, to which the pictured guard most likely belonged, was unofficially known as the "Swedish Company", due to a large number of Swedish volunteers.)

Text: Ivan Ž.

Photographer: Kramer, SS War Correspondent Battalion.
Date: September/October 1943.
Location: unknown (district of Sisak), Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.

Sources: National Archives, 242-JRP-46-8-11; Wilhelm Tieke, Tragödie um die Treue – Aufstellung, Kampf und Untergang des III. (germanischen) SS-Panzerkorps, Gummersbach, 2003, p. 15; Erik Wallin, Thorolf Hillblad (ed.), Twilight of the Gods – A Swedish Volunteer in the 11th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Nordland" on the Eastern Front, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2009, p. 134. (Photo restoration: Ivan Ž.)

NOT ALLOWED: removing source credits from the files; using text without crediting the original author; using files and information for political propaganda and commercial purposes.



Formiranje Oklopnogrenadirske SS-divizije "Nordland". Mladi pripadnik izviđačkog bataljona divizije, moguće Šveđanin, proverava isprave jednom hrvatskom seljaku na improvizovanoj rampi pored prostora za obuku svoje jedinice, u okolini Siska. Ovaj mladić pomalo zbunjenog izgleda verovatno poznaje hrvatski jezik koliko i seljak zna švedski. (Treća četa izviđačkog bataljona divizije "Nordland", kojoj je stražar na slici najverovatnije pripadao, nezvanično je bila poznata kao "Švedska četa", zbog velikog broja švedskih dobrovoljaca.)

Tekst: Ivan Ž.

Fotograf: Kramer, Ratnodopisnički bataljon SS-a.
Datum: septembar/oktobar 1943.
Mesto: nepoznato (srez Sisački), Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.

Izvori: National Archives, 242-JRP-46-8-11; Wilhelm Tieke, Tragödie um die Treue – Aufstellung, Kampf und Untergang des III. (germanischen) SS-Panzerkorps, Gummersbach, 2003, str. 15; Erik Wallin, Thorolf Hillblad (prir.), Twilight of the Gods – A Swedish Volunteer in the 11th SS Panzergrenadier Division "Nordland" on the Eastern Front, Stackpole Books, Mechanicsburg, PA, 2009, str. 134. (Foto-restauracija: Ivan Ž.)

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06 June 2020

0471 | Photo | SS-Division "Reich" (mot.)



Operation 25. Members of the SS Division "Reich", together with the assembled (German) populace, watch the Easter dance in the centre of Alibunar, from the Romanian Orthodox churchyard. Even though it is a big holiday and a joyous occasion, the faces of the civilians, and most of the German soldiers, are deadly serious: just a few metres away, in the churchyard of the Serbian Orthodox church (whose windows are seen in the upper right corner of the photo), there is a mass grave with fresh corpses of Yugoslav prisoners of war and civilians, shot in the previous two days by members of the "Deutschland" Regiment (partly as a reprisal for the murder of the regimental adjutant). In the Serbian church, which has been turned into an assembly camp, there are other prisoners, anxiously awaiting their fate. This holy day, the first day of (Western) Easter, was ended by the SS men with yet another execution: teacher Bošnjački, a Serb, was shot for "Freischärlerei" (illegal warfare). (Bošnjački, like many others, was buried in Selište, due to the churchyard pit being already full. Note: the Germans considered the armed Serbian civilians war criminals who violated the laws of war, and their murder an act of justice; on the other hand, the armed ethnic Germans, executed by the Yugoslav troops, were considered heroes, and their murder a crime.) During the exhumation of the corpses, on 15 February 1945, there were 51 corpses found in the Serbian Orthodox churchyard in Alibunar. Found in Selište were 54 corpses. The exact number of people shot in Alibunar during the occupation by the SS Division "Reich", due to the chaotic situation caused by the war, has never been determined (it was estimated that close to 200 persons were murdered).

Text: Ivan Ž.

Photographer: unknown.
Date: 13 April 1941.
Location: Alibunar, Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.

Sources: Otto Weidinger, Division Das Reich im Bild, Munin-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1981, p. 75; Otto Weidinger, Division Das Reich – Der Weg der 2. SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich" – Die Geschichte der Stammdivision der Waffen-SS, Munin-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1983, vol. II, p. 224/225; Srđan Božović, Nemački zločin u Alibunaru 1941, Narodni muzej Pančevo, 2004, pp. 65, 81–84; Jelena Đ. Lopičić-Jančić (ed.), Ratni zločini nemačkih okupatora u Jugoslaviji 1941–1945. godine – Presude jugoslovenskih vojnih sudova, Muzej žrtava genocida, Beograd, 2010, pp. 30, 36–37; "Auch sie marschieren im Geiste mit!", Volksruf, Pančevo, 25.04.1941, vol. X, no 16–478, p. 2; National Archives, RG 242, T354, r. 121, 3754550; ibid., r. 122, 3755637. (Photo restoration: Ivan Ž.)

NOT ALLOWED: removing source credits from the files; using text without crediting the original author; using files and information for political propaganda and commercial purposes.



Operacija 25. Pripadnici SS-divizije "Rajh", zajedno sa okupljenim (nemačkim) narodom, posmatraju uskršnji ples u centru Alibunara, iz porte rumunske pravoslavne crkve. Iako je veliki praznik i povod za veselje, lica civila, kao i većine nemačkih vojnika, smrtno su ozbiljna: samo nekoliko metara dalje, u porti srpske pravoslavne crkve (čiji se prozori vide u gornjem desnom uglu slike), nalazi se masovna grobnica sa svežim leševima jugoslovenskih ratnih zarobljenika i civila, koje su u prethodna dva dana streljali pripadnici puka "Nemačka" (delom u cilju odmazde za ubistvo pukovskog ađutanta). U srpskoj crkvi, koja je pretvorena u sabirni logor, nalaze se ostali zarobljenici, koji sa strepnjom čekaju svoju sudbinu. Ovaj sveti dan, prvi dan (katoličkog) Uskrsa, esesovci su završili još jednim pogubljenjem: učitelj Bošnjački, Srbin, streljan je zbog "hajdukovanja" (Freischärlerei). (Bošnjački je, kao i mnogi drugi, pokopan na Selištu, jer je raka u crkvenoj porti već bila napunjena. Napomena: Nemci su naoružane srpske civile smatrali zločincima koji krše zakone ratovanja, a njihovo ubistvo sprovođenjem pravde; s druge strane, naoružane folksdojčere, pogubljene od jugoslovenske vojske, smatrali su herojima, a njihovo ubistvo zločinom.) Prilikom ekshumacije leševa, 15. februara 1945. godine, u porti srpske pravoslavne crkve u Alibunaru pronađen je 51 leš. Na Selištu su pronađena 54 leša. Tačan broj ljudi streljanih u Alibunaru za vreme boravka SS-divizije "Rajh", zbog haotičnog stanja prouzrokovanog ratom, nikada nije utvrđen (procenjuje se da je pobijeno blizu 200 osoba).

Tekst: Ivan Ž.

Fotograf: nepoznat.
Datum: 13. april 1941.
Mesto: Alibunar, Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.

Izvori: Otto Weidinger, Division Das Reich im Bild, Munin-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1981, str. 75; Otto Weidinger, Division Das Reich – Der Weg der 2. SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich" – Die Geschichte der Stammdivision der Waffen-SS, Munin-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1983, tom II, str. 224/225; Srđan Božović, Nemački zločin u Alibunaru 1941, Narodni muzej Pančevo, 2004, str. 65, 81–84; Jelena Đ. Lopičić-Jančić (prir.), Ratni zločini nemačkih okupatora u Jugoslaviji 1941–1945. godine – Presude jugoslovenskih vojnih sudova, Muzej žrtava genocida, Beograd, 2010, str. 30, 36–37; "Auch sie marschieren im Geiste mit!", Volksruf, Pančevo, 25.04.1941, god. X, br. 16–478, str. 2; National Archives, RG 242, T354, r. 121, 3754550; ibid., r. 122, 3755637. (Foto-restauracija: Ivan Ž.)

NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova; korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora; korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.

0470 | Photo | SS-Division "Reich" (mot.)



Operation 25. On the fifth day of the invasion, the SS Division "Reich" begins its attack. (The division attack cue was: "Prinz Eugen!") On the roof of a "Deutschland" Regiment's eight-wheeler (Sd.Kfz. 232), the division commander, SS-Gruppenführer Paul Hausser, advances through the Banat mud towards the town of Alibunar (where he would set up his headquarters; the half-track seen on the side is probably the vehicle that Hausser mostly used for travelling through Banat). The SS Infantry Regiment "Deutschland" captured Alibunar the same day, after a short but fierce battle against the Yugoslav 4th Cavalry Regiment. Immediately thereafter, due to the participation of armed civilians in the fighting, and especially due to the murder of the SS regiment's adjutant (after the fighting was over), mass arrests and killings of all "suspicious" men began throughout the town (among others, they killed a medic with a red cross ribbon, and a 15-year-old boy, before his mother's eyes). The reprisal carried out by members of the "Deutschland" Regiment in Alibunar for the death of their adjutant was also the first German Army's mass reprisal on the territory of Yugoslavia in World War II. This regiment was commanded by SS-Oberführer Wilhelm Bittrich, future commander of the II SS Armoured Corps. He was never tried for the war crimes in Alibunar, nor was the division commander, Hausser.

Text: Ivan Ž.

Photographer: unknown.
Date: 11 April 1941.
Location: unknown (district of Vršac), Yugoslavia.
Original caption: unknown.

Sources: Otto Weidinger, Division Das Reich – Der Weg der 2. SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich" – Die Geschichte der Stammdivision der Waffen-SS, Munin-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1983, vol. II, p. 224/225; ibid., p. 339; Srđan Božović, Nemački zločin u Alibunaru 1941, Narodni muzej Pančevo, 2004, pp. 27, 65, 71–72; Ivana B. Spasović, Stradanja u Pančevu i Jabuci za vreme Drugog svetskog rata, Istorijski arhiv u Pančevu, 2011, p. 51; Velimir Terzić, Slom Kraljevine Jugoslavije 1941 – Uzroci i posledice poraza, Narodna knjiga, Beograd, 1982, bk 2, p. 388; National Archives, RG 242, T354, r. 121, 3754481; ibid., r. 122, 3755636–8; "Bittrich, Wilhelm", Lexikon der Wehrmacht; "Hausser, Paul", ibid.; "Nummernblöcke der Waffen-SS 1940", WWII Day by Day.

NOT ALLOWED: removing source credits from the files; using text without crediting the original author; using files and information for political propaganda and commercial purposes.



Operacija 25. Petog dana invazije, u napad kreće SS-divizija "Rajh". (Signal za napad divizije bio je: "Princ Ojgen!") Na krovu jednog osmotočkaša (Sd.Kfz. 232) puka "Nemačka", komandant divizije, SS-grupenfirer Paul Hauser, nastupa kroz banatsko blato prema gradu Alibunaru (u kojem će smestiti svoj štab; poluguseničar koji se vidi sa strane verovatno je vozilo kojim je Hauser većim delom putovao kroz Banat). Pešadijski SS-puk "Nemačka" zauzeo je Alibunar istoga dana, posle kraće ali žestoke borbe protiv jugoslovenskog 4. konjičkog puka. Odmah potom, zbog učešća naoružanih civila u borbi, a posebno zbog ubistva ađutanta SS-puka (po završetku borbi), počelo je masovno hapšenje i ubijanje svih "sumnjivih" muškaraca po gradu (između ostalih, ubijen je i bolničar sa trakom crvenog krsta, i jedan petnaestogodišnji dečak, pred očima majke). Odmazda koju su pripadnici puka "Nemačka" izvršili zbog smrti svog ađutanta u Alibunaru bila je ujedno i prva masovna odmazda nemačke vojske na teritoriji Jugoslavije u Drugom svetskom ratu. Ovim pukom komandovao je SS-oberfirer Vilhelm Bitrih, budući komandant II oklopnog SS-korpusa. Za zločine u Alibunaru nikada nije odgovarao, kao ni komandant divizije, Hauser.

Tekst: Ivan Ž.

Fotograf: nepoznat.
Datum: 11. april 1941.
Mesto: nepoznato (srez Vršački), Jugoslavija.
Originalni natpis: nepoznat.

Izvori: Otto Weidinger, Division Das Reich – Der Weg der 2. SS-Panzer-Division "Das Reich" – Die Geschichte der Stammdivision der Waffen-SS, Munin-Verlag, Osnabrück, 1983, tom II, str. 224/225; ibid., str. 339; Srđan Božović, Nemački zločin u Alibunaru 1941, Narodni muzej Pančevo, 2004, str. 27, 65, 71–72; Ivana B. Spasović, Stradanja u Pančevu i Jabuci za vreme Drugog svetskog rata, Istorijski arhiv u Pančevu, 2011, str. 51; Velimir Terzić, Slom Kraljevine Jugoslavije 1941 – Uzroci i posledice poraza, Narodna knjiga, Beograd, 1982, knj. 2, str. 388; National Archives, RG 242, T354, r. 121, 3754481; ibid., r. 122, 3755636–8; "Bittrich, Wilhelm", Lexikon der Wehrmacht; "Hausser, Paul", ibid.; "Nummernblöcke der Waffen-SS 1940", WWII Day by Day.

NIJE DOZVOLJENO: uklanjanje naziva izvora sa fajlova; korišćenje teksta bez navođenja izvornog autora; korišćenje fajlova i informacija u političko-propagandne i komercijalne svrhe.

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